Florida Sentinel Bulletin

DECATUR, GA — Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver Hines Ward was arrested early Saturday in Georgia on a drunken driving charge, sheriff’s officials said.

The former Super Bowl MVP and reigning “Dancing With the Stars” champ was booked into the DeKalb County jail just outside Atlanta at 3:41 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence. A jail official said he was released on $1,300 bond, though the sheriff’s office website said his bond was set at $1,000. The discrepancy couldn’t be immediately resolved Saturday.

Since being drafted in the third round out of Georgia in 1998, the 35-year-old Ward has been a four-time Pro Bowl selection and won two Super Bowls.

Dancing with professional partner Kym Johnson, Ward in May became the second professional football player to win the “Dancing” crown after Emmitt Smith won in 2006. He bested actresses Kirstie Alley and Chelsea Kane to become the season 12 champion of the TV celebrity dance competition.

BALTIMORE — John Mackey, a Hall of Fame former player for the Baltimore Colts who had battled with dementia, has died. He was 69.

Chad Steele, a spokes-man for the Baltimore Ravens, said Thursday that Mackey’s wife had notified the team about her husband’s death.

Mackey played for the Baltimore Colts from 1963 to 1971. He also played for the San Diego Chargers in 1972. He caught 331 passes for 5,236 yards and 38 touchdowns in a 10-season career.

A NFL labor agreement ratified in 2006 includes the so-called “88 plan,” named for Mackey’s number, 88. It provides up to $88,000 a year for nursing care or day care for ex-players with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, or $50,000 for home care.

CINCINNATI  — Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones was arrested Sunday in Cincinnati on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct while intoxicated and resisting arrest, adding to the list of off-the-field troubles that have marred his career.

The 27-year-old Jones was jailed around 3 a.m. and released later in the morning. Cincinnati media outlets reported documents filed in court accuse Jones of being disorderly and shouting profanities in a downtown bar and trying to pull away as officers arrested him.

Jones denied the allegations in an interview.

“I just had surgery, so why would I be resisting arrest?” said Jones, who was wearing a neck brace. He’s been recovering from a neck injury last fall that required surgery, but he was expecting to play this year.

He said he hadn’t been drinking and was out with his wife to celebrate her birthday.

Yao Ming, the 7-foot-6 top overall pick by Houston in the 2002 draft and one of the pivotal figures in the globalization of the NBA, has decided to retire.

The 30-year-old center had his career derailed over the last two years due to an injury in his left foot and ankle. He missed the entire 2009-10 season recovering from surgery to repair a broken bone in the foot and played just five games last season after suffering a stress fracture in his ankle.

Over nearly a decade, Yao’s presence helped facilitate the NBA’s popularity in Asia. He was voted in as an All-Star starter eight times, largely due to an enormous Internet vote from China.

His 2007 matchup with countryman Yi Jianlian was broadcast over 19 networks and seen in more than 200 million homes in China.

Yao retires with career averages of 19.0 points and 9.2 rebounds.

Armen Gilliam, who was part of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels basketball team that made a run to the Final Four in 1987 and played for several NBA teams, has died. He was 47.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday that Gilliam died Tuesday night at the LA Fitness gym in Bridgeville while he was playing basketball.

The office said the cause of death has not yet been determined pending an autopsy which is likely to be completed later Wednesday.

After college, the Phoenix Suns drafted Gilliam as the No. 2 overall pick in the first round of the draft. Besides the Suns, Gilliam also played with the then-Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz. He retired in 2000.

Nicknamed ‘’The Hammer,’‘ Gilliam was the leading scorer on the 1987 UNLV team coached by Jerry Tarkanian.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams mailed his then-girlfriend, former beauty pageant-winner Brooke Daniels, an engagement ring. Nice, kind of, but Daniels rejected the proposal—and, according to a lawsuit filed by Williams recently, kept the ring, worth around $76,000, along with a signed baseball for Daniels’ brother and $5,000 for school and dental bills.

Now, Williams is suing Daniels in order to get the ring back.

Williams said in a signed affidavit that, once his proposal was denied and he asked for the ring back, Daniels claimed she had lost it, prompting Williams to file a insurance claim. The subsequent insurance investigation found that the ring was in the possession of Daniels’ father, Michael Daniels.

The elder Daniels also said that he never claimed the ring to be lost, and that he will return it to avoid a lawsuit. “I want to wash my hands of it,” Michael Daniels said. “It’s just a hassle. I’ll take care of my daughter. I don’t need him.”

A temporary injunction hearing is scheduled for Friday in Odessa.

NEW YORK — Nike re-signed Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick to an endorsement deal Friday, nearly four years after dropping him amid his legal troubles.

Nike, which signed Vick as a rookie in 2001, terminated his contract in August 2007 after he filed a plea agreement admitting his involvement in a dogfighting ring.

Terms of the deal were not released.

Technically, Dwyane Wade can be counted among the millions of Floridians unemployed. With the NBA lock out in its first day, the Miami Heat superstar wasted little time getting his resume on the Internet in hopes of finding a gig to pass the time.

At 12:01 a.m., just as the lock out started, Wade began marketing himself to potential employers on Twitter. “Any1 hiring?” Wade tweeted. “I’m available for all bar and bat mitzvah and weddings..but my specialty is balloon animals.”

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Los Angeles Lakers guard Shannon Brown has opted out of his contract, becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Brown could still end up playing for the Lakers in the 2011-12 season.

He has averaged 7.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists since being acquired by the Lakers from Charlotte in February 2009. He was part of two NBA title teams with them.

Brown averaged a career-high 8.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists last season.